ABSTRACT:Tuberculosis is an infectious disease that affects lungs simple it seems but it is among the first ten leading causes of mortality all over the world. It has been 50 years since the introduction of novel drug candidate for the treatment of tuberculosis and despite many efforts for the development of new antitubercular drug, the pharmaceutical industry has, with few exceptions, indicated little interest in undertaking work in this arena. This lack of interest is due to two key perceptions that currently available drugs are adequate for the control of tuberculosis and that sufficient monetry benefit could not be realized to justify the expense of bringing a new tuberculosis drug to market. This article presents a brief overview of existing drugs and the drug candidates which are under development.